


Protection

by IRegretNothingAndEverything



Series: Bubbly [4]
Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Bubby uses he/him and xe/xem, Crying, Fae Gordon Freeman, Hope for the future, Seperation, g-man doesn't use any, gordon currently has no name and is reffered to as 'the fae' and uses they/them pronouns, teary eyed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IRegretNothingAndEverything/pseuds/IRegretNothingAndEverything
Summary: Black Mesa is no place for a child to grow up, Bubby knows this well. For the Fae and Benrey, it's getting far too dangerous. The adults have to make a tough decision.
Series: Bubbly [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019895
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Protection

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyy, the bubbly au is back baby !!

It was G-Man who made the decision in the end. The three kids couldn’t grow like this forever, hidden in Black Mesa, especially not Benrey and Gordon. They couldn’t get out, not for long and not in any meaningful way, without being dragged back in. 

Bubby hated it, but G-Man was right. 

They had to get the kids out. 

Tommy would be safe, of course, under G-Man’s wing, and they had thought that the other two would be too. However, it seemed the other scientists began to care less, or perhaps be more brave. They couldn’t keep up this charade forever. 

“We send them out together. There’s no need for them to be alone.” Bubby said softly in the night, arms wrapped tight around xemself. G-Man nodded slightly, hand hovering over Bubby’s shoulder. Coomer said nothing either, leaning against the wall across from xem, staring into the doorway towards the three kids, curled up together in a pile. 

“Our next star gazing date.” Coomer said after nearly a minute of silence, and Bubby nodded slowly. “The cover of night’ll keep them safe. The Fae’s got it covered, what with nature being a fae thing.” Coomer stared into the room as Benrey shifted, the right two arms curling around Gordon just a bit tighter. 

For a moment, they all sat in silence, trying to accept the fate of the family they had built. Then, with heavy hearts, the three of them stepped back into the room, resolving to spend as much time with the kids as possible, before everything went to hell. 

* * *

The Fae was quiet as Bubby and Coomer held one of their hands each, swinging them between their grip gently. There was something quiet about the night, and Bubby was terrified of it. Benrey sat on Coomer’s shoulders, the upper pair of hands tangled in Coomer’s hair, the bottom pair around his forehead. They settled on the roof, the fae sitting between then quietly, wrapping their arms around their legs. 

“Tell me about the stars again Bubbly.” They said, in a quiet voice, and in that moment, Bubby knew they knew. Bubby sighed softly, reaching out carefully and wrapping an arm around their shoulders, dragging them close to xyr chest. Benrey frowned, climbing down from Coomer’s shoulder and pressing himself against Bubby’s other side, wrapping one pair of arms tight around Bubby’s free arm. 

“Alphabetically or discovery date?” Bubby asked, and the fae thought for a moment, sniffling softly. 

“Alphabet.” 

“Got it kiddo.” 

And so they sat, curled up together again in quiet, Bubby pointing out the stars and telling the kids about them in as much detail as xe could pack into a few moments, the fae sniffle softly, trying so hard, so so hard, not to cry, but it was a losing battle from the start. 

“Did I do something wrong?” the fae asked quietly, and Bubby frowned, shaking xyr head slightly. 

“No, kiddo, no you didn’t.” 

“Why are you sending us away?” Benrey asked, staring up at Bubby with his star filled eyes, and Bubby smoothed a hand down his hair. 

“It’s safer, kiddo. You... you can’t stay here. Not like this. I know what it’s like to be raised here, and I don’t... we don’t want that for you two.” 

“What about Tommy?” the fae asked desperately, pleading teary eyes turned up to Bubby, who sighed, cupping the fae’s face in xyr hands and kissing them right on the forehead. 

“Tommy is a star, under the protection of a black hole. Even if someone got him into a trap, he could get out on his own easy. You two have far too easily exploited weaknesses here.” 

“I don’t like those words.” Benrey mumbled, and Bubby nodded slightly, wrapping his arm back around Benrey tightly. The Fae sniffled, then stood carefully, wobbling on their feet slightly and threw their arms around Coomer tightly, who hugged them back just as tight, if not tighter, but the fae did not complain, just sniffled and stepped back, let Benrey cling on tight for a moment before looking between them quietly. 

“I’ll come back for you guys. I promise, and a fae’s gotta keep their promises.” The fae murmured, and Bubby smiled, holding back the shaky sobs threatening to break free. 

“Okay kiddo. We’ll be here waiting for you, whenever you come back.” 

And Benrey wrapped his arms tight around the fae, all four, sprouting great wings from his back that he used to show off to Tommy and the fae for fun, and, with one last teary look, took off. 

The two of them stared at the kids escaping from hell, before Bubby shook, burying xyr face in xyr knees, feeling Coomer sling an arm around xyr shoulders. 

“They’ll be okay.” Coomer hummed, and Bubby nodded slightly. “They’re smart kids.” 

Bubby hoped he was right. 

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not write a multi-chapter rewrite of the series. I have a lot of ideas for it. Would y'all be interested in that?


End file.
